success as a novelist and short story writer, but World War II changed his professional course. When the United States entered the war, he joined the Navy and was sent to Europe. He initially worked as an illustrator. Later, when his superiors became aware of his literary talent, he was editor of the amphibious forces' newspaper. Toward the end of the war, he was sent to London, where he made drawings of Normandy beaches in preparation for the 1944 invasion. After taking part in the liberation effort, he worked for the Naval Division of Office of Strategic Services in London as an interrogator of prisoners and espionage suspects. In his final assignment, he interviewed French Resistance leaders and wrote a report on their work. Discharged from the Navy in 1945 as a lieutenant commander, Wight returned to Chatham. Faced with the uncertain prospect of supporting his family as a writer or painter, he decided to go into museum work with the help of the G.I. Bill of Rights. He enrolled in Harvard's museum training program led by Paul J. Sachs at the Fogg Art Museum, where he also worked with noted art historians Agnes Mongan, John Rewald and Jakob Rosenberg. The oldest and most experienced member of his class, Wight wrote the principal essay for the catalog of the students’ exhibition, "Between the Empires: Géricault, Delacroix, and Chassériau: Painters of the Romantic Movement." He graduated with a master's degree in 1946. Wight spent the next six years at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, first as director of education, then associate director of the institute. Among his projects were exhibitions of the work of Louis Sullivan, José Clemente Orozco, Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Mid-career In 1953 Wight accepted an offer to teach at UCLA's art department and direct of the university's new art gallery. He stayed for 20 years, becoming chair of the department and shaping a stellar exhibition program in a period when Los Angeles had relatively few museums. To raise funds and the gallery's profile, he organized a private support group and circulated UCLA's shows to other institutions. During his 20-year tenure, UCLA presented the work of major figures including Jean Arp, Morris Graves, Hans Hofmann, Arthur Dove, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Richard Neutra, as well as thematic exhibitions. In addition to organizing the shows, Wight wrote essays in dozens of exhibition catalogs and authored monographs